BLACKBURN Rovers are facing a major fixture headache which could seriously jeopardise their survival bid following the outcome of the FA Cup quarter finals over the weekend.

Chelsea's 4-0 win over Tottenham and Newcastle's 1-1 draw with Arsenal now means Rovers must re-arrange TWO of their remaining five home games.

And John Williams today admitted that could have major repercussions in their battle to beat the drop as they face up to the possibility of a glut of home games during a hectic run-in.

"This is a big issue for us," said chief executive Williams.

"I can now see a situation where we'll have a lot of home games bunched together during the closing weeks of the season and that's far from ideal when you are fighting down at the bottom. So it's something that needs looking at as soon as possible.

"I'll talk to both Graeme Souness and Tom Finn today and then we'll contact the Premier League and both of the clubs to try and sort something out.

"But we need to get something fixed up as quickly as possible."

Initially, Rovers were due to play Newcastle on Saturday, March 23, but that fixture has now been postponed to accommodate United's sixth round replay with Arsenal at Highbury.

And the Chelsea game -- scheduled for Saturday April 13 -- has also bitten the dust because the Blues will now face Fulham in the semi-finals that weekend.

The postponement of the Newcastle game in particular could seriously affect Rovers' survival hopes.

Originally, Andy Cole was due to miss that game as part of a three match ban picked up as a result of his sending off against Bolton.

However, Cole will now miss the vital six-pointer with Southampton instead, as well as the games against Leeds United and Leicester.

And, with United facing a hectic fixture schedule of their own, it could be May before a new date can be found -- meaning Craig Bellamy and Kieron Dyer should also be back from injury to bolster Bobby Robson's squad.

"I'm a firm believer in the argument that there are good times to play sides," added Williams.

"We did have a back-up plan for the Newcastle game but that has now been complicated by the Chelsea postponement so it's going to take some working out."